Utah Jazz All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell managed to avoid a serious ankle injury when he suffered a setback playing against the Indiana Pacers on April 16 but isn’t yet close to returning.
Per the NBA’s website, the Jazz confirmed on Friday that Mitchell won’t be re-evaluated until at least another week, which suggests he won’t return until the playoffs start May 22. Utah faces the Oklahoma City Thunder on May 14 and then closes its regular-season slate at the Sacramento Kings on May 16.
According to ESPN stats, Mitchell leads the Jazz with 26.4 points per game and is second with a player efficiency rating of 21.41.
Utah headed into Friday’s matchup against the Denver Nuggets sitting atop the Western Conference standings at 48-18, one game ahead of the Phoenix Suns in the race for the No. 1 seed. While every club wants home-court advantage, earning it isn’t worth rushing Mitchell back before he’s ready and risking potentially limiting him for when the games matter most.
